State needs Rx for doctor shortage

How long does it take to get an appointment to see your primary care doctor?

If it's under two weeks, consider yourself lucky.

A new study by the Massachusetts Medical Society found that the average wait to see a primary care physician in Massachusetts in 2008 was 36 days, two more days than last year. And if you live in some parts of Western Massachusetts, the wait can take as much as 100 days.

The shortage of primary care physicians has been a problem for some time in the commonwealth, but the state's 2006 health insurance mandate, which has provided coverage for an additional 439,000 residents, is putting even more pressure on the system.

If the wait to see the doctor seems long now, it's apt to get even longer next year as the steady influx of newly insured people forces more primary care doctors to close their practices to new patients.

The obvious solution to this vexing problem is to attract more primary care doctors to the Bay State, but that's easier said than done for a number of reasons.

Medical schools aren't graduating enough doctors - and newly minted MDs have an average of about $150,000 in medical school debt. So who can blame them for choosing a practice in a more lucrative sub-specialty over joining a primary care practice?

The state Legislature has recognized this problem and approved a number of programs - including repaying medical school loans of doctors who agree to work in community centers and helping them with down payments on home mortgages - to alleviate the pain of choosing primary care work. Unfortunately, it may take several years to have a real impact.

In the meantime, we agree with some who believe that there are some quicker solutions - including payment reform and reducing physicians' administrative tasks.